Urban development concept

The King Fahad National Library represents the new centre of the rapidly changing Olaya
District, and stands out clearly from the heteroge­neous existing building pattern. The
square new building in the centre of the urban park looks open and light, and is tied into
the urban space despite its size. Gerber Architekten designed the existing park including
parts of the available green space as a spacious square, and this and the library now
form an urban unit. Thus the National Library becomes the iconographic centre of a
prestigious urban quarter that will become incre­asingly important in future years.

The new building appears inviting and transparent; it explicitly differs from
the heterogeneous urban landscape and is yet connected with its surrounding spaces. Thus the King Fahad
National Library serves as the new iconographic centre of a representative district which will gain further
importance in the near future.